Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was struck on the back of the head by a flare as their Euro 2016 qualifier with Montenegro in Podgorica was abandoned. After a 35-minute delay German referee Deniz Aytekin restarted the match. The start of the second half was delayed by 18 minutes because of disturbances and fighting then broke out when Roman Shirokov's 66th-minute penalty was saved by Montenegro goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic. Aytekin then led the players from the pitch for a second and final time.

Russia demanded they be awarded a victory after Friday’s Euro 2016 qualifier in Montenegro was abandoned after attacks on their players. The match in Podgorica was halted at 0-0 after 67 minutes after Russia’s Dmitri Kombarov was hit by an object, sparking a brawl between the players. The game had previously been suspended in the first minute when the Russia goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, was struck on the head by a flare. He was later treated in hospital for burns. A 25-year-old Montenegro fan suspected of hurling the flare and identified only by the initials LL turned himself in to the police on Saturday accompanied by his lawyer. The Russian Football Union president, Nikolai Tolstykh, said that his organisation would file a protest to UEFA and that “in our view, it should be a technical defeat for Montenegro”. He added that the match should have been abandoned following the attack on Akinfeev, but that UEFA’s match delegate Barry Bright had overruled Russia’s objections. Tolstykh said: “Our team was forced to continue the game.” In addition to the attacks on Akinfeev and Kombarov, the RFU said the midfielder Alan Dzagoev had been struck by coins thrown from the stands while receiving treatment for a thigh injury.

Akinfeev, who also sustained concussion and a neck injury, was treated in a hospital in the Montenegrin capital, but was later cleared to return home. “I want to say thank you to everyone who’s been worrying about me. I feel fine. I hope that nothing similar ever happens again, neither in Montenegro nor in any other country”, Akinfeev said. The general secretary of Montenegro’s FA, Momir Durdevac, described the fans who forced the match to be abandoned as “hypocrites” and “barbarians”. “These fans sing ‘Montenegro we love you’ but throw flares, insult rivals and cause all sorts of incidents every time,” he said. “We have left the impression of barbarians and this is a complete disaster. As far as I’m concerned the game should not have continued after the first-minute incident. We can only thank God that no one was seriously hurt.” Durdevac also questioned whether players will accept future international call-ups amid such an atmosphere. “It’s a human catastrophe, the final straw. What can we do after this? We pay a fine, we say goodbye to a great competition. And then there is a new game, and again there are flares and again there are chants, everything that should not be. Sorry, but I had to say this. Who is going to come to play for the national team under these conditions?” UEFA said it would not opening formal proceedings before receiving reports from the match delegate and referee.It is not the first time a match has been abandoned in this campaign, with Serbia and Albania’s meeting in October called off after a brawl broke out when a drone was flown over the pitch. The latest incident comes after the UEFA president, Michel Platini, warned of a return to the “dark days” of hooliganism, and a rising trend of “nationalism and extremism”.

The FIFA Referees Committee has appointed 22 referees, 7 support referees (one of them local) and 44 assistant referees representing 49 different countries for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015. FIFA has implemented a comprehensive programme to ensure that the referees for this very important competition will be in peak condition come 6 June. Just as it did for the 24 participating teams, the road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 began for an initial group of referees and assistant referees from all over the world in September 2012, when FIFA took the important decision to create a women’s refereeing project. One of the key objectives was match control and consequently to prepare this group of prospective referees for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015. The referees selected for the tournament in Canada have been chosen based especially on their personality and their quality in terms of football understanding by being able to read the game and the teams’ tactical approaches towards each match. Between now and 6 June, the selected group of match officials will participate in two seminars: one in Zurich from 18 to 24 April and the other in Vancouver ten days before the kick-off of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015, at which the identities of the referees and the support referees will be decided. The selected referees and assistant referees will be observed and monitored regularly during this period, and FIFA is ready to give them all the support they need so that they can prepare for this important tournament in the best possible manner. (Source: FIFA)

UEFA has warned all the Champions League quarterfinal teams to stop their players harassing referees, said secretary general Gianni Infantino. And Europe’s governing body does not support extending video technology to catch mistakes made by referees, he added. UEFA’s refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina warned Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Monaco, Paris Saint Germain, Porto and Real Madrid at a meeting Friday. The meeting at the UEFA headquarters at Nyon in Switzerland came the day after the ruling body banned Paris St-Germain’s Ivorian defender Serge Aurier for three European matches for “insulting acts” toward the referee of the Champions League match against Chelsea. Aurier did not play in the March 11 match which ended in a 2-2 draw, but made disparaging comments on Facebook about referee Bjorn Kuipers over his dismissal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. UEFA is concerned about the growing tendency of groups of players to surround referees after every controversial call. Infantino slammed what he called the “aggressive stance” of some players toward referees. “This is something that we don’t accept, that we cannot accept and we are very clear about that,” he said. “We also have to protect the referees and respect the referees”, added the UEFA official.

Howard Webb has been handed the task of selecting officials for Premier League matches. The 43-year-old, who refereed the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, has been promoted to performance director for the Select Group of Referees.

Since retiring last season, Webb has been working as technical director for Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and will now take responsibility for managing the select group of 17 full-time professional officials. He takes over from 69-year-old Keren Barratt, who had been due to retire but is moving into a different role. PGMOL will also appoint an additional referee coach to work directly with Webb. Webb will continue to report to PGMOL general manager Mike Riley who said: "Howard's role as technical director this season has enabled him to obtain an excellent understanding of the organization, our officials and the strong work of our support team. What has also become clear is that Howard has a natural flair for coaching and his extensive experience of the Premier League means he's expertly placed to lead and further develop the high standards of the select group".

A car used by Cypriot referee Leontios Trattos was set on fire, police said, the second time he has been targeted in just over a year. The incident is the latest in a string of threats and attacks against referees and their families which led to calls for the officials to boycott games. Police said the car, which was parked in the basement of Trattou's residence at an apartment block in a suburb of the capital Nicosia, was destroyed. Authorities suspect the vehicle, a company car belonging to Trattou's employers, was doused with inflammable fluid and set alight.

One of the Mediterranean island's most high-profile referees, Trattou (photo) was also targeted in February last year when a bomb destroyed a car parked outside his home. That incident, among a string of attacks against referees, led to a brief suspension of fixtures on the island. The attacks have continued, however, and in January a bomb went off outside the home of a referee's mother, and last month a car belonging to a referee's wife was damaged by a pipe bomb. There have been no injuries reported from any of the attacks.Source: Reuters

A Michigan soccer player who killed a referee with a single punch to the face was sentenced to eight to fifteen years in prison. Bassel Saad, 36, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter last month after admitting he struck John Bieniewicz during a game at a Livonia park. The 44-year-old referee was about to call a penalty that would have booted Saad, who already had a yellow card, from the match last summer when he was dealt the blow that would eventually kill him two days later.

Bieniewicz's widow Kris pulled out a red card as she spoke on the stand to symbolize her husband's last action before his untimely death, and said she will always see the act as murder. ‘Before I go the one final thing that I want to do is I would like to serve Mr. Saad with the red card that he was entitled to,' she said in her closing remarks. Bieniewicz previously told reporters that she hoped Saad 'never sees the light of day', and that she believed her husband's life was 'worth more than eight years'. Saad faced second-degree murder charges before he took a plea deal. He will be eligible for parole after eight years and his maximum punishment is 15 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay more than $9,200 for restitution and the father-of-two's funeral expenses, according to the Detroit News. Mrs. Bieniewicz said her only consolation was knowing that her husband died doing something he loved. Wayne County Judge Thomas Cameron told Saad during sentencing that his 'childish and senseless act' had destroyed both the Bieniewicz family's life - as well as his own. Saad, an auto mechanic and a native of Lebanon, has lived in the US legally for 15 years but is not a citizen. The father-of-three could face deportation after he serves his time.

A number of players testified in court last year that Saad had been issued a yellow card, or an official warning, following a foul in the first half of the June 29 game. Bieniewicz was about to issue him a second yellow card for being verbally abusive. That's when the referee was struck, the players said. Saad's punch landed in the head and neck area, causing Bieniewicz to fall and stop breathing. Dr. Jamal Saleh said he rushed toward Bieniewicz, who was on his back grasping a yellow card in one hand and a red card in the other. A skirmish erupted between players following the attack. Saleh said he quickly checked on Bieniewicz and the referee initially was not breathing but had a pulse. Saleh said he performed CPR and told the unconscious Bieniewicz: 'Wake up, buddy. You're going to be OK.' Player Scott Herkes testified that Saad removed his jersey and left the field with another man as Bieniewicz was being tended to. Herkes said he followed the men into the parking lot and took down the license plate number of the vehicle in which they left. In 2005, Saad was involved in another assault on a soccer field. Court documents obtained by Detroit Free Press indicate that he repeatedly struck another player in the head. Saad pleaded no contest in that case and was sentenced to five days of community service and 12 months of probation. Mrs. Bieniewicz recently testified at Michigan's Capitol in support of proposed legislation that would make it a felony to assault a sports official in the state. Referees ‘are out there on an island with no one to defend them,' she said. 'Something more than a misdemeanor should be in place.'Source: Daily Mail

Following on from last year's inaugural referee exchange program between the FFA and JFA, two of Japan's top referees, Yudai Yamamoto (photo) and Kazuyoshi Enomoto, will referee two A-League matches each. Yamamoto, a professional FIFA Referee who was recently in Australia as a match official for the AFC Asian Cup 2015, will referee the A-League Round 20 match between Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday 8 March and the Round 21 match between Adelaide United and Central Coast Mariners on Thursday 12 March. Enomoto, a Class 1 referee in the J.League, will referee the A-League Round 23 match between Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United on 29 March and the Round 24 match between Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners on Thursday 2 April. As part of the reciprocal agreement, two Australian referees, Jarred Gillett and Chris Beath, will referee two J.League matches each between 27 April and 3 May.In addition to the exchange program in the respective domestic competitions, a team of Australian match officials made up of Ben Williams, Matthew Cream, Peter Cetrangolo and Strebre Delovski will officiate at the Kirin Cup in Japan in March, taking charge of Japan - Tunisia (27 March) and Japan - Uzbekistan (31 March).FFA Director of Referees Ben Wilson believes these exchanges provide significant development opportunities for Australian and Japanese referees and enhance the strong relationship between the JFA and FFA. "The exchange program is designed to help referees from both countries gain valuable international experience as well as expose players in the Hyundai A-League and J.League to different styles of officiating," said Wilson. "As part of our referee's strategic plan, one of the important aspects is to offer our referees meaningful international experience which will enable them to become better referees. This will be the first time that Australian referees have been invited to officiate in the J.League which will provide us with an excellent opportunity to showcase our referees in another top quality domestic league".

The 129th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Football Association Board (The IFAB) was held on 28 February 2015, at the Culloden Hotel in Craigavad, near Northern Ireland’s capital Belfast.

Following further analysis of the so-called “triple punishment” (Law 12) of sending off, penalty and suspension for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity within the penalty area, The IFAB agreed that the punishment is too harsh and that a solution must be found. The proposal put forward by UEFA, including a provision that detailed specific instances where a referee should issue a caution instead of a red card, was rejected. After much debate, The IFAB agreed in principle that one element of the triple punishment may be removed and that this element should be the automatic one-match suspension that is currently defined in the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The IFAB has tasked FIFA and its Disciplinary and Legal Committees to investigate the feasibility of administering on a global level the removal of the automatic one-match suspension for offences relating to the denial of an obvious goal-scoring possibility that are not considered serious infringements. Subject to the outcome of that analysis, FIFA will submit a proposal for potential changes to the FIFA Disciplinary Code to the FIFA Executive Committee in March for decision.In relation to Law 3 – The Number of Players, The IFAB made a ground-breaking decision to allow for return substitutions in the lowest levels of football. It follows the success of two separate pilot programs run by The Football Association and The Scottish Football Association, the results of which demonstrated substantial increases in participation levels across the game. The new provision outlines that the use of return substitutes will be subject to agreement of the member association concerned. Also in relation to Law 3, The IFAB remains of the view that a total of three substitutions is the appropriate number for a football match. It was agreed that the proposal for a fourth substitution in extra time, which was on the agenda today, should be assessed by the advisory panels before any further discussion by The IFAB. On the matter of electronic performance and tracking systems, The IFAB approved in principle the use of such devices, on the condition that the data is not made available to anyone inside the technical area during a match. The next step will be the introduction of a quality programme in order to categorize such devices, to regulate their use, and to ensure the validity and reliability of the collected data, before any changes to the Laws of the Game can be considered by The IFAB. With regard to the potential use of video to support match officials, an extensive discussion took place during the AGM including feedback from the two advisory panels. The IFAB decided that this topic should continue to be discussed by the panels in more detail.Other topics to be referred to the panels include handling the ball, the potential use of “sin bins” and the interpretation of the offside law. A proposal from US Soccer regarding stopping the clock was not approved.The modifications to the Laws of the Game made at today’s AGM will come into effect on 1 June 2015. The 130th Annual General Meeting is set to take place in Cardiff, Wales, on 4-6 March 2016.